


one last dance

by drmarc



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drmarc/pseuds/drmarc
Summary: A short one shot about Jolex based on Us The Duo's song, One Last Dance.
Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Kudos: 8





	one last dance

**Author's Note:**

> So I have this thing where I get obsessed with a song every once in a while, and by obsessed, I mean OBSESSED. One Last Dance is such a good song, but it's also so painful, in my opinion. I just had to write this one shot because it made me think of Jo and Alex everytime I hear or heard this sing, so yeah! I hope you guys like this, enjoy!

**_Hundreds of eyes in the room but yours found mine_ **

**_I asked you to dance and by chance our hands intertwined_ **

**“Alex, just go ask her out please. It’s physically hurting me to see you pine over her like this, just go please.”** Meredith pleads to her friend, sitting beside her. They’re at the reception for Miranda Bailey and Ben Warren’s wedding and the group of newly transferred residents are sitting two tables down from them, and one particular resident caught Alex’s eye the minute she walked in the hospital. 

**“I can’t, Mer! I told you, I’ve tried but I just, I don’t know what to say or do when I’m actually in front of her.”** Alex sighs in frustration. It’s true, he gets all tongue-tied whenever he tries to ask her out and he just doesn’t know why. Cristina and Meredith share a look before turning their attention back to their sulking friend.

 **“Wow, Evil Spawn is having actual normal girl problems.”** Cristina says, and Meredith laughs at her comment while Alex just glares at her before taking a swig of his beer. The two continue to tease Alex for a while before he gets up to order another beer.

 **“Another round for me.”** He says and leans against the bar next to Richard Webber and Catherine Avery, who were also leaning against the bar. They stand up and start to go and mingle with others when Richard turns back around to face Alex and says,

 **“Just ask her to dance, Karev. You might just sweep her off her feet with that.”** Richard nods at him with a smile on his face and turns back around to follow his wife. Alex stares at his back for a second before turning back around to sit on the stool next to him while his eyes immediately go to the brunette who’s currently laughing her ass off at something her friend said. He sighs and nods a thank you to the bartender after he places a glass of beer in front of him.

He tunes everything out and just stares off to nothing as he drinks his beer, he almost didn’t hear her ask the bartender for another round of whatever she and her friends are having. He turns his head to the side to look at her and stares for a minute. He thanks God she doesn’t notice him staring that close. He looks at his drink and chugs it all down before wiping his mouth and hands on a napkin, and turning around to face Jo Wilson.

Jo notices him standing next to her and turns her head to smile at him. Alex attempts what looks like a smile as holds his hand out and asks, **“Would you like to dance?”**

Jo looks at him, her eyes gleaming as she glances down at his outstretched palm. She looks back up at him with a soft and somewhat teasing smile on her face as she says, **“I would love to.”**

**_What lasted for minutes seemed like eternity_ **

**_I had no clue this one dance would lead you to me_ **

**“Alex, where are we?”** Jo giggles as she tries not to stumble with Alex leading her up some steps. It’s their first anniversary and Alex said he had a surprise for her, one that he said he’s been wanting to do ever since they danced at Ben and Bailey’s wedding, which is why she’s currently trying not to fall over after he blindfolded her before he brought her to the car and to wherever they are at the moment. She also has a surprise for him, one she’s not sure of what his reaction will be.

 **“We’re almost there, baby, just two more steps and… Ha! We’re here!** ” Alex exclaims enthusiastically. Jo puts her arms out and tries to feel out for anything that could give her a clue on where she is but she doesn’t come into contact with anything.

 **“Okay, so I’m going to take your blindfold off, okay?”** Jo nods, and Alex continues, **”I’m gonna take it off, BUT you can’t open your eyes just yet. You can open them when the song ends.”** Jo furrows her eyebrows in confusion but agrees to it anyway. Alex slowly undoes the blindfold on her head and as promised, Jo keeps her eyes closed. Alex steps away from her for a moment before music fills the silence around them and Jo smiles at the familiar tune.

She feels Alex slip his hands around her waist and Jo wraps hers around his neck. They start to sway comfortably as Jo tucks her head in the crook of his neck, softly singing along to the song.

 **_“Mmm, so this is love, so this is what makes life divine.”_ ** Alex takes her hand and spins her. He takes her back in his arms and softly hums along. They stay in that position, swaying, for the remaining minutes of the song before Jo slowly opens her eyes. She’s in the middle of a living room of a house, a newly built and furnished one at that, and in a picture frame in front of her is a picture that the couple took as a joke for their friends. 

In the photo, Alex is down on his knee with a faux ring in hand and Jo’s hands are on her mouth, feigning shock and surprise. Jo feels Alex’s arm slip around her figure and looks down to see Alex’s hand holding open a small, velvet box with a princess shaped diamond on a ring shining at her. She stares at it in awe, with tears in her eyes, as Alex whispers in her ear, **“Will you marry me, Jo?”**

Jo grabs the hand that’s holding the small box and spins around to face Alex. She leans in to kiss him and right before their lips touch, she whispers a soft **“yes”** before closing the gap between them.

They kiss softly before Jo pulls back and rests her forehead against his as her hands hold his face. **“I also have a surprise.”** Jo says, smiling softly with her eyes closed. She takes one of his hands that was resting on her waist, and slowly slides it to her stomach which was carrying the tiniest bump. It was tiny, very tiny, but it was there, and it maked Alex suck in a breath.

**_Hundreds of friends in the room and you’re dressed in white_ **

**_You walk down the aisle and I smile to know that you’re mine_ **

Alex stares at the woman walking down the aisle towards him and he feels like he can’t breathe. He can’t breathe and when Jo grins at him, he can breathe. It’s cheesy he knows, but it was like the girl was his oxygen. Her and the little life she was carrying inside her.

Link, who asked Jo personally if he could give her away, pats Alex’s shoulder and gives him a manly hug once they reach the end of the aisle to where Alex was standing. Jo gives Link a kiss on the cheek after he gives her away to Alex before he goes to his seat.

 **“We are here today to…”** Alex drowns Meredith out and stares at Jo, who feels him staring at her and turns to look at him lovingly. He sees that she’s teary-eyed and he chuckles lightly at that. Jo seems to realize what he’s laughing about and wipes a tear that escapes from the corner of her eyes as she mouths, _“Hormones.”_

Their stares and actions go unnoticed for a while as they forget where they are before Meredith catches their attention by clearing her throat. **“I think this is the part where you guys say I do.”** She says quietly to the two in front of her.

**“I do? Oh yes, I do!”**

**“Yeah, I do.”**

Jo and Alex stumble over their answers simultaneously and make their small crowd of friends and family laugh. Meredith smiles at the two who join hands and look at each other lovingly, Alex putting his hand on Jo’s 5-month bump, caressing it softly, before holding Jo’s hands again.

**_We cheers our champagne and wait for our song to begin_ **

**_The band starts to play and you ask me to dance once again_ **

Jo is sitting and chatting with Helen and Bailey while Alex does the same with their other guests. Helen and Bailey smile at her while Helen puts her hand on top of Jo’s, which was softly caressing her bump. **“How are you feeling?”** She asks her.

Jo smiles softly as her eyes scan the room, looking for her husband, seeing him laughing and talking with Meredith, Cristina, and Jackson. She looks back at Helen and answers, **“I feel wonderful.”**

They continue talking for a while before she feels someone caress her arm. She turns her head around and sees her gorgeous husband standing in front of her, with his hand stretched out to her. She’s taken back to the first time they danced and she smiles giddily at her husband. Her husband, it still feels surreal to her that he is her husband. 

**“Would you like to dance?”** Alex repeats the words he said to her the night they fell in love and Jo swears she felt like she was falling all over again.

Jo puts her hand in his and stands up as she says, **“I would love to.”** They head to the middle of the dance floor and they vaguely see the crowd that was dancing in the middle slowly disperse for the couple’s first dance as husband and wife.

**_Fifty-nine years have gone by since you said yes_ **

**_Even now in your hospital bed you still look your best_ **

**“Hey, ma, you feeling okay?”** Caroline, Alex and Jo’s oldest grandchild, says as she walks into Jo’s hospital room and sits by the foot of her bed. Alex is sitting in a recliner chair that their kids brought for him from the house next to Jo’s bed.

Jo smiles at her granddaughter before answering, **“As comfortable as I can be, honey.”** Jo had a mild stroke the day before and it caused her to also have a mild heart attack which resulted in her ending up in the hospital. Alex almost had a heart attack because of it but their kids, who are also doctors, were able to calm him down.

 **“What about you, pa? Your blood pressure down?”** Alex rolls his eyes after her question and Jo slaps his arm for it. Caroline just laughs at their actions and raises her eyebrow at her grandfather.

 **“Yes, yes, it’s down.”** He smiles softly at her, laughing lightly. They hear a knock on the door and see Jo’s doctor with a look on her face that both Jo and Alex know too well, and Alex wishes he doesn’t know it at all.

 **“You’re discharged, Mrs. Karev. You can go home and rest now.”** Her words are soft and warm, but the meaning behind it is not. Alex and Jo share a look and Jo takes Alex’s hand in hers, softly caressing it with her thumb, as Alex leans forward on her bed and brings their joined hands to his mouth, kissing it softly as a tear makes its way down his face. Jo puts her hand on his cheek and wipes the tear with her thumb as she softly whispers, **“Take me home.”** Alex nods at her, a few more tears escaping from his eyes as he places a few more kisses on her hand and leans forward to kiss her on the lips before he stands up.

**_We might be old but there’s still one thing we can do_ **

**_Put on a song, let’s pretend to dance ‘round the room_ **

**“Ly, can you help us with something?”** Alex calls down the stairs for his youngest daughter. He hears her say something and soon sees her figure walking up the stairs.

 **“What do you need, dad?”** Elizabeth says whilst she pats her hands dry on her pants. Alex leads her to him and his mother’s bedroom and points to the mini speaker he placed on the bedside table.

 **“Could you set that up and play your father and I’s song?”** Jo says from the bed, grinning slightly at her daughter. Elizabeth agrees with a smile and sets it up while Alex helps Jo up from their bed and sturdies her by hugging her figure to his. Jo puts her arms around his neck as Alex puts his around her waist and Elizabeth plays the song from her father’s phone on the speaker.

They start swaying slightly and slowly to the music as Elizabeth makes a move to leave. She stays by the doorway for a moment, staring at her parents who were still as in love as they were when they were younger. She’s tired and emotional, having spent the day with everyone in their family and eating dinner with her mother while she was still here. She decides to retire for the night and quietly closes the door to her parents’ room. The sound of the song playing loudly in the quiet house, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear.

 **“You’d think their songs were made for us.** ” Jo says, laughing lightly as they sway to the song of their favorite duo. Alex chuckles at her comment and holds her tighter, burying his face in her hair. **“Maybe they are.”** He says, which makes her giggle.

 **“It’s their wedding vows, and it’s our life.”** Jo says quietly. 

Alex wants to cry, but he doesn’t. He wants to, but he doesn’t feel like he has to. His wife is dying. She could die now, in his arms, or she could die later, beside him, and he knows in himself that he will go wherever she does.

They sway lightly, basking in the music and silence, as they whisper the song in each other’s ears. **_“No matter where you are, I’ll be there.”_ **

**_Thirty-five hours have gone by since your last breath_ **

**_Memories of dancing with you are all I have left_ **

**“Dad, will you be alright here?”** Mason, his eldest, asks him. They just got home from the funeral home, where a wake for Jo will be held in a few days. 

She died just the night before, after their last dance, they went to sleep, only Jo never woke up. Alex did, and once he saw her, he knew immediately. He held her for a while, but he didn’t cry, he quietly sang to her and whispered his vows to the silent air. Their kids found them less than an hour later. They cried, their father comforted them, and they pulled themselves together to do what needed to be done.

 **“I’ll be okay, bee.”** He tells him. His eyes wander the room for a while before it settles on the picture frame sitting on their bedside table. Alex sits down and takes the frame in his hands while Mason stays by the door. **“I’ll be alright, I just wanna lay down for a while. I’m tired.”** He gives his son a crooked smile, to which he mirrors. Mason nods at his father and makes a move to leave, but before he could close the door, Alex calls out to him. **“Mason,”** He says,

 **“Take care of our family. I love you.”** Mason feels a wave of dread and realization wash over him. He stays in his place for a while before he decides to walk over to his father and give him a hug. Alex rubs his back as he takes a few breaths. Mason gulps, trying to push down the feeling of wanting to cry, **“I love you, too.”** He walks out and closes the door. 

Alex sighs and lies down on his side of the bed. He turns to his side and stares at the picture framed in his hands, tracing the outline of Jo’s face. He smiles as he sighs and closes his eyes, picturing Jo waiting for him with her hand outstretched, asking him for a dance.

**_Just a few seconds_ **

**_before it’s my time to go_ **

**_Hello my God and my love,_ **

**_at last I am home_ **


End file.
